Just 18 days after celebrating his 10th birthday, our son Garrett, tragically lost his life after suffering injuries from a falling tree.

Throughout his 10 years, Garrett was able to see and experience many wonderful things. He saw the beauty of nature by swimming in the oceans, boating on rivers and lakes, watching sunsets and fireworks, camping with his fellow cub scouts, and taking countless wood walks with his family. He truly loved the outdoors and built a fort near our house.

When it came to athletics, there wasn't an activity Garrett didn't like. His favorite sports were baseball, soccer and Tae Kwon Do, however, he enjoyed playing basketball and recently started running 5Ks with us. Not that his current schedule wasn't busy enough, he was ready to start learning golf. Garrett also loved school and being a 4th grader at Notre Dame Elementary with his first "big locker". He was an exemplary student earning straight A's, and reading at the 9th grade level.

As a proud and protective big brother, Garrett was always trying to teach his little sister Adeline everything he knew, whether she cared to learn it or not. He was really looking forward to the fall when she would start Kindergarten so he could show her around his school.

Without a doubt, Garrett was probably the biggest fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, knowing the stats of all the players and rarely missing a game. He even named his cat Carlos Beltran after the Cardinals right fielder.

Garrett had a big heart for others, often helping kids who had been left out or picked on at school. He helped work the food pantry at our church and on one occasion donated some of his toys and clothes to a boy his age whose family was homeless.

Despite Garrett's busy scholastic, athletic, social and family life, the most important thing to him was his relationship with Christ. He truly loved attending church every weekend and being an alter server was something he was very proud of. Because of his deep faith in God, we take great comfort in knowing where he is today.

Losing Garrett has been a very traumatic experience for us and our entire family. But knowing that his gifts of life have impacted so many people has been a bright light in an otherwise dark time. We have taken great joy in learning about the recipients of Garrett's corneas, organs and tissues from their letters.

Garrett is not only a saint in our eyes....he's a hero.

Our vision for the future is to continue creating awareness about organ, tissue and eye donation and Garrett's gifts to others have given us something positive to remain focused on. Someday we hope to meet the recipients and their families so that we can learn more about how Garrett's gifts have impacted their lives. News of these wonderful people continues to bring joy to our hearts and further strengthens our desire to create awareness for eye, organ and tissue donation.

We know that someday we will see our son again - not on this earth, but in heaven. Until then, we will continue to work towards bringing awareness to the need of organ donation so that others may be helped.

To learn more, visit or find us on Facebook and Twitter at Garrett's Path.

Garrett's Gifts of Life

Garrett SAVED 5 LIVES:

14-year-old boy received his heart

14 year-old-boy with three younger sisters received his liver

43-year-old mother received his pancreas

28-year-old man that had been on dialysis for over four years received one of his kidney's

65-year-old man that happened to be a "perfect match" received his other kidney

Garrett's corneas IMPROVED VISION FOR 2 PEOPLE:

63 year old grandmother of 13 and counting

10 yr old girl

Garrett's tissues will help countless others

A boy with chronic knee pain has received cartilage

A female police officer injured in the line of duty received cartilage

Statistics/Facts about Organ Donation:

Every 80 minutes someone dies waiting for an organ transplant

There are over 123,000 people on the waiting list and those are the ones healthy enough to make the list.

Proceeds will go to the Garrett M. Brockway Foundation to help increase organ donation awareness. In addition, the foundation will strive to make a positive impact on children's lives through academic scholarships and athletic programs.

Questions?

For event related questions please click on the "Contact the Organizers" button on the left-hand side of this page.